By Mike Renzella
The Haldimand Press
SIMCOE/JARVIS—When Mike VanNetten checked into the hospital on April 8, 2021, he couldn’t have known it would be over 90 days before he would step through the front doors of his home again.
Mike’s COVID-19 diagnosis and subsequent recovery process has been covered by the media and his wife Sarah has garnered thousands of followers on social media as she posted about Mike’s journey. How does the man at the centre of all this attention feel to be out of the hospital and back in the company of his family and friends?
“It’s better than I hoped,” said Mike, who grew up in Jarvis and spoke to The Press with Sarah from the couple’s home on a chicken farm in Simcoe.
“It’s wonderful to have him back at home,” said Sarah, mentioning that Mike still has daily physiotherapy and exercise work to do. “It’s so much better being at home, in the comfort of your own environment.”
Mike’s first priority at home was to spend a long while sitting with Sarah and the kids, where “they just talked and smiled and laughed.” His four children, aged 13-18, helped run the family farm in Mike’s absence, something that gives him an immense feeling of pride and gratitude. “They’ve done an unbelievable job. I can’t thank them enough. I knew my wife could do it … but my kids stepped up,” he said. “It goes to show that they do grow up in a hurry.”
Getting home wasn’t easy. When Mike was stable enough to be removed from the ECMO machine, he began a grueling physiotherapy process designed to help him take small, targeted daily steps.
“It was tough. I couldn’t even get myself up out of the bed; they had to help me. The sweat and the tears just to try to do it – I would go to myself ‘is this worth it?’ But those physio people and my wife kept on me to take those little steps,” said Mike, who also took inspiration from others doing rehabilitation. “I was in rehab with stroke victims, and spinal injuries, and amputees. If they can do it, I can do this.”
A sign welcoming
Mike home and thanking
the community for its support.
While Mike remembers checking into the hospital in April and his physiotherapy at the end, large parts of his time at Hamilton General, including when he was on an ECMO machine, have been forgotten.
“I don’t remember a lot,” said Mike. “There were some nightmares that are hard to explain. People wouldn’t really understand until they’ve been in that situation.”
He continued, “My mom passed away a year ago this month, and I remember Sarah saying, ‘Don’t go see your mom; your mom doesn’t want to see you yet.’ Of all the people in my dreams, I never did come across my mom, which I find remarkable.”
When Mike first heard talk of his time on the ECMO machine, he only knew it was a machine that helped his lungs recuperate. One of his doctors invited him to see the machine in action on another COVID patient: “I went in and talked to her while she was on this machine and told her, ‘Things will be alright…. If I can get out of this, you can get out of this.’ I believe she’s doing well as we speak.”
Following his journey, Mike has little patience for the anti-vaccine movement: “I’ll tell you right now, you don’t want to be affected by it. It only takes a little bit to get your shot; you’re in and out of there in a half hour. A half hour is better than spending 90 days in the hospital. Go get your darn shot.”
“Mike is the person that anybody could be. Any wife could be me. You don’t see it coming,” summed up Sarah, noting that those without a vaccine are at a greater risk of contracting COIVD-19 and being hit with more severe symptoms. “These same amazing doctors and nurses will give them the same generous amount of care that they gave to Mike…. As a testament to what they’re doing, get the shot and lets get back to normal.”
Both Mike and Sarah will be taking part in Strides for the General in September, a fundraiser for Hamilton General Hospital that is raising money for a new ECMO machine and upgrades to the rehabilitation centre where Mike stayed during his time there.
Until then, the couple plan to take the time to enjoy each other, their family, and the improbable, miraculous second chance that reunited them. Having come so close to tragedy has given Mike a greater understanding of what life is all about: “My family means everything to me…. I’ve got the best friends in the world. I’ve got the best community in the world, actually.… I’m lucky to live where I live.”
